Defeat In Malaya, The Fall Of Singapore

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Campaign #5

by Arthur Swinson

*****The colony paid in full for Britain's incredible failure to recognise the growing Japanese menace. One route into Singapore - through the jungle - was 'impossible' for an invading army . . . But through the jungle they came. And a humiliating, bloody retreat left the civilians to the harrowing occupation.*****.

Genres: History, World War II, Military History, Military Fiction

119 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Arthur Horace Swinson (1915–1970) was a British Army officer, writer, playwright, and historian. A prolific playwright, he authored more 300 works.

Swinson was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, to Hugh Swinson and Lilla Fisher Swinson. He attended St Albans School. He enlisted in the Rifle Brigade in 1939 and in 1940 was commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment. In the Far East, he fought at the 1944 Battle of Kohima as a staff captain with the British 5th Brigade, which commanded the 7th Battalion of his regiment. The diaries he kept during the battle are now lodged in the Imperial War Museum. He served until 1946, with postings in Malaya, Burma, Assam and India during World War II. In 1949, he subsequently became a writer and producer at the BBC where he produced a number of programmes for Richard Attenborough.

In 1966, Swinson wrote and published "Kohima," an account of the Battle of Kohima which was fought from April to June 1944 and in which he was a participant. The preface states that Field Marshal William Slim directed Swinson to ensure that Kohima and Imphal are described as twin battles fought under Slim's 14th Army. This Swinson does. Ultimately, however, the book focuses on the experience of the British 2nd Infantry Division. The book is a good adjunct to Slim's "Defeat into Victory" and Masters' "Road Past Mandalay."

Swinson was the author of "Scotch on the Rocks" (1963 and 2005), which told the true story of the wartime wreck of the SS Politician, on which Compton Mackenzie's novel "Whisky Galore" (1947) – and the Ealing Comedy of the same title – were based.

He died in Spain while on vacation, aged 55. He was survived by his wife, Joyce Budgen, and their three children.

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

In February, 1942, The British Empire lost Singapore, and with it Malaya, to the Japanese. It was a Humiliating defeat at the time, made worse over the years as it came out that the Japanese had accomplished this feat of arms with fewer actual troops than the Commonwealth had possessed in theatre. Written in 1968, just as the flow of good Japanese Memoirs and papers were hitting their peak 20 years past the war, the author Swinson makes the most of the Ballantine's illustrated History of WWII 160 page format to tell both side of the story. The British are the bungling, distracted (WWII in Europe was kind of a big deal), road-bound, poorly led, stodgy defenders we have come know from any history of this campaign. But the Japanese are both the wily, jungle-mastering, aggressive and ruthless fighters portrayed elsewhere and an army with commanders fighting each other and HQ not being supportive , and most importantly, supplies of low quality and running out. We get to see two shoe-string operations battle it out- the better led more coherent force winning- as it will often do.

My father was a vet of the Reconquest/Liberation of the Pacific, in the American Army- with a survivor's guilt about the POWs left in Japanese hands from the early defeats. Thus this period has always been a difficult period for me to read about. I can feel the desperation of fighting the Japanese- and the horror of being caught by them. So this read was harrowing, albeit brief. The Japanese out wit and outfight one of my favourite Armies- that of the Raj and Australia. The Japanese used tanks, air power and superior jungle fighting techniques to infiltrate Allied Positions, outflank them - or sometimes just overwhelm them with fire. Tommies, Sepoys and Aussies kept on retreating down the Malayan peninsular until they were on the Island of Singapore- only to find the vaunted "Gibraltar of the Pacific- Had not been Fortified on the Land Side (Really)!!!. The resultant surrender seems preordained - but was an incredible shock around the world.

This is a great little book for the Junior reader- the market for whom the series was created. I started reading these when I was about 8- so any kid that age or above will like this book- chock full as it is with B/W pics, Maps, diagrams, and line drawing of gear and uniforms. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast- a nice little book. All you need to start an army/game, or take a look at a campaign. A Bolt Action/Flames Of War/Chain Of Command player would be well served to get these books- especially if WWII is not their main area of gaming- these little books catch you up quickly. A nice quick read on an interesting topic-compelling and short.

[Sivasothi N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1969, Arthur Swinson did a great job of holistically summarising the events leading to the Fall of Singapore in WW2 into 160 pages. Part of a Ballantine Illustrated History of World War II series, it’s backed by an editorial team and is peppered with photos.

I read the last pages of this account with dread and a thumping heart even though I’m familiar with the events! He extracts some comments of Japanese military leadership especially Yamashita.

The discussion of British failures are well reasoned and do trace back holistically to elements of a fading empire and the effect of a pre-war and post-depression population which wanted to disavow another embarkation into war.

I was more surprised by the revelations of Yamashita’s frustrations with inadequacies of Japanese troops and how the bickering between military factions led to unfavourable and sometime mutinous outcomes.

For sure there are lots of updates since this was published, but this is still useful for a basic grasp. I borrowed from the Internet Archive which was clumsy to read for an illustrated book, but I couldn’t wait for the second hand print copy i purchased from Abe Books to arrive

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I didn't know the end consequences for the people of Malaya and Singapore I could almost laugh at the incompetence of leadership that brought about the quick collapse of the defense of Malaya and Singapore. After the account of the Seige of Leningrad this was almost the complete opposite in some regards for how they defended themselves. This book did a great job of laying out the campaign and did not hold back on who to blame but admitted that even with great leadership with the defense Singapore would have fallen as Britain staying alive at home prevented more resources going that way plus all the other factors and admits in the end that the loss happened 2-3 years before the fighting began.